BOLT

I know, I know... super tiny picture. However, my children LOVE this movie! If you are wondering what you can do with your family and haven't seen this movie, check it out from redbox for $1 some night. So far, it has babysat my children better than I do! Definitely a movie the whole family will enjoy (including you). It will be part of our movie library eventually.

Need Dessert??

If you attended the dessert auction at our ward building last night, you wouldn't. There was pretty much a little bit of everything there. The highest bid of the night went for Heidi's delectable desserts for $425 (or $450)!! Jenn, the Vaughans and the Knights also had some pretty high bids for their yummy treats. I think the Gaines had some pretty high bids for their upside down apple pies as well. The youth of our ward should LOVE us!! I think it's safe to say that camp is paid for for all of them this year after this event! It was fun to finally attend one although I did lose my girls a bit in the beginning. We bought some twinkie derby cars made by Tara for $20. That would be the first twinkie EVER for both of them - and they took to it pretty well. All in all - a success for our little girls. Watch out high bid desserts, I'm on a quest for some really yummy recipes/ideas!

Dedication.... or Torture??

I've been doing really fabulous about exercising. So far my childrens' noses have cooperated too allowing me to get there every weekday since last Monday (16th). We've been bouncing around, trying new classes, visiting ones we've done before but haven't been to in a while.... BOY DO I FEEL IT!!! Everyday I've had a little muscle ache here or there or just felt kinda exhausted. I'm starting to think... is this dedication or torture? I've definitely gotta hand it to the ladies I work out with though - they are tough cookies!

A visit from Angels

I had a little visit from angels today. I know, I know... don't get jealous - they can come to a living room near you too! The sisters came over to my home to teach and it was wonderful. They talked about family (also the visiting teaching message for the month!). They didn't even know that it was, either! It feels so wonderful to have them in my home, and I am so glad that we have sisters so that poor military moms (alone)like me can enjoy hearing from the missionaries! If you haven't had them over yet, sign up to see them. It will greatly enrich your life and edify your spirit.

Happy Birthday Babe!

My dear, sweet husband turned 28 today! I can't believe it! The past 5 years and 3 months with him has been the best of my life. I look forward to getting to know him even better than I already do in the years to come. I couldn't even count the number of times he has made me laugh. He truly is my best friend. I hate being away from him, but now is the time in my life that I need to be self-less. Eventually I will get him all to myself (sorry ladies... he's mine!). =0) Happy Birthday Babe!

A busy week with some Hope

This week was a hopping one for our family. We were busy with something every day! Sometimes it took right up until dinner to finally get everything done. Most nights I slept horribly and didn't get the rest I was hoping for. Last night I got the most sleep I was able to get all week! It was wonderful! At first, I thought that it wouldn't happen with children who passed out by 6:30pm. They woke up a few hours later and I thought they might not go back to bed. They did and Heavenly Father blessed me with some really great sleep. I even had a dream! Can you guess what it was about? I am so excited about this.... I had a dream that the baby I am carrying is a BOY!! So, we'll see if my dreams can tell the future. I will keep you all posted when I get my ultrasound.

I treated myself to JOANN's yesterday. I bought fabric to make the girls' Easter dresses, fabric for a few baby blankets (all generic colors of course), and a few odds and ends that I didn't have yet to round out my sewing stash. I have projects to do! I am so excited! I'll post pictures of them as I finish.

It's finally here.....

THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!! I'll be visiting Rita's today. For those of you calorie conscious ladies, grab a sugar free treat (complimentary on the first day of spring). I will be trying one of those today. I will post later with an "update" letting you know what flavor I chose. I hope you beat the bleak weather and feel a touch of spring sometime today!!

UPDATE:: Sorry it took me a day to post, but I got the sugar-free Pineapple (really quite yummy)flavor at Rita's. My girls tried the Mystery Flavor. They seemed to like that one too.

ONE of the best days of the year....

I got this pic from the Rita's Website!! Friday is the first day of spring which means a FREE regular Rita's!! They have some great flavors, I hope you all get the chance to stop in!! The one around here is located off of 21st street. I'll be joining all you Tropical Smoothie lovers for the first day of Summer too! If you get in to try a Rita's, leave me a message and let me know what flavor you got!

Happy St. Pattys!!!

Since I am part Irish - I need to respect my heritage and put up a nice greeting for St. Patrick's Day. Since it is a Holiday in Ireland. Don't forget to wear green so you don't get pinched!! Hopefully there will be a pot O gold at the end of the rainbow that comes after this dreadful rain passes!

Here is a recipe for those of you that want to add a little Irish to your dinner tonight:
IRISH POTATOES
Ingredients: 8-10 medium potatoes (peeled and cooked), 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (softened), 8 oz. sour cream (low-fat), ½ cup butter (melted), ¼ cup chopped chives, 1 clove garlic (minced), 2 tsp. salt, paprika.

Mix and mash everything and place in a lightly buttered casserole dish, then sprinkle paprika over the top. Place in the frig overnight. Bake @ 350 uncovered for 30 minutes. (Yields: 8-10 servings)

A Few things I've been doing lately....

As desperately as I try to sit down and "craft" I just haven't been able to do it yet! In lieu of the Visiting Teaching Workshop (being held today) I had an excuse to craft a bit. Here is what I have. The crowns are little magnets for your fridge with a fitting quote and the box I decorated to transport the handouts for today. I think I will get some uses out of it since Spring is on its' way!


Sorry the picture is a bit dark. The design showed up better without the flash.

3 weeks down

Hooray! We've made it almost a month now that Jeremiah has been away. I am SO grateful I've had help and had friends to visit with and things to keep me busy. Being busy really is the cure. I've been blessed enough to hear from him a few times since he's been away. It's always a comfort to know that he is safe and doing as well as possible. Thank you everyone! I may not have asked you for help yet, but just knowing you are there if I need anything is SUCH a comfort and relieves any stress I might feel!! I will have plenty of OB appointments - so you may get your chance to keep an eye on the girls!

got SOAP?

My Julia just loves to "wash her hands". Her favorite soap is the Kandoo foam. This morning was her latest adventure. She started out by saying "I need some soap", to which she plopped some soap on her chin to make a beard.... and shortly... a mess! My little sister took these pictures (the flash on my camera takes a bit at times... so these were the best she could get). No doubt this girl loves to get clean!

It's about time we joined the Zoo!

Last year I decided we should get a membership somewhere fun to enjoy what Norfolk has to offer. We started with the Botanical Gardens, and got quite a few chances to play and have fun (although the main attraction was the water in WOW - but what child doesn't love to be soaked to the bone?).

This year my adventure is joining the Zoo (since you've all seen the title).

Yesterday was in one word: Perfect. Everything about it was just beautiful so we decided to venture out and join the zoo (since we are all wild animals at our house anyway). It seems as though everyone had the same idea. The line wasn't too bad and the girls really enjoyed it. Melanie seemed to enjoy life a whole bunch more behind the lens of her camera. I watched her "creep" around with her camera trying to get a good shot. What could be better than that??

New "Do"

I decided to get a new "do" yesterday. I've definitely needed a cut for a LONG time!! Jaesi's sister, Julie, cut it for me (and hopefully Nancy will be around long enough to help me maintain it). I pretty much told her to have fun with it. It turned out looking similar to a few cuts in the ward - which is totally fine. I just wanted something different and I love it! It makes me want to go crazy with highlights now!! Maybe closer to summer though. What do you think my hubby will say?

Who needs Cali??

When you have the beautiful weather we had yesterday!??? Today is supposed to be just as beautiful followed by a beautiful Sunday! Hooray! Last Sunday we had some terrible rain, so I think this one will be a nice change!! Our beautiful yesterday just happened to be the first day that the Rita's on 21st street opened for the season! We went there to get our first Rita's of the year and look forward to going back many times! The lucky new flavor is Island Fusion and it is fabulous!

First Snow Accumulation

My husband is so funny when he can correctly predict things that don't really matter. He's pretty good about the weather here. Maybe it's because he lived just across the bridge most of his life. Who knows? His prediction? That it would snow in March... and... what did it do? IT SNOWED MARCH 2nd!!! Ok, ok.... we got a few flurries this winter, but nothing actually stuck until this one. We got so much snow schools didn't know what to do. The roads were completely dry by lunch time.... better watch out school buses!! My apologies... I grew up in a northern state and have gone through many a snow (and blizzard). A half foot of snow or more constitutes a school delay, half an inch does not. Right on the nose with that prediction honey... now... maybe you can predict when you'll come home to us!?? =0)

Baby!?

I had my appointment this week and was able to get my first ultrasound as well! Yay! I've been having this fear that since I've been asking for a boy so much, that maybe Heavenly Father in His good humor, would send me twins (one boy, one girl) to appease my pleas for a son. Gladly, I have only one little person growing inside of me. It has a head, strong heartbeat, arms, legs, and is VERY active. Sucking its' thumb is apparently already a favorite past time! Haha. Big sister Melanie will be proud.